WWF’S EPR PROJECT
Jazlyn Lee, SEA EPR regional coordinator, WWF© Juergen Freund - www.jurgenfreund.com

Outline of presentation:
WWF’s No Plastic In Nature – EPR projectStudies on EPR assessment for plastic packaging Malaysia and Philippines•

Material flow analysis for post-consumer plastic•

Key implications•

Proposed EPR scheme

Conclusion© Days Edge / WWF-US2

WWF’s No Plastic in Nature by 2030 – EPR project
No Plastic in Nature by 2030

WWF’s
“No Plastic in Nature”
InitiativeStrategies• Eliminate unnecessary plastics• Double global plastic recovery• Shift to sustainable sources forremaining plastic

WWF’s“Extended ProducerResponsibility” (EPR) project

Ecodesign

THREE key pillars• Global policy/international treaty• Business engagement

Extended Producer
Responsibility (EPR)• Action programs – Plastic Smart Cities (PSC)

Wastemanagement

1

Mobilize governments in targeted countries to incorporate EPR into their legal framework2

Support businesses to create an ecosystem for circular economy for plastic and packaging

3

Facilitate multi-national and local companies to take responsibility for end-of-life impacts oftheir products and packaging

4

Develop studies and analysis, provide science-based recommendations and guideline3

WWF’s EPR project scope

CHINA

VIETNAMINDIA
PHILIPPINESTHAILANDMALAYSIASINGAPOREKENYA
INDONESIA

SOUTH AFRICA

Sources from: mapchart.net

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What is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme

The shift of responsibility and costs ofproducts’ and packaging’s end-of-life
management

Government

Producers andimporters• Encourage product eco-design: reduction, reuse model, higher recyclability, increase recycledcontent in products and packaging• Reduce environmental Impacts: increase end-of-life product waste collection, treatment &reuse/recycling, materials recovery to extend life cycles, reduce virgin materials used
• EPR fee is different from tax or public fee as fees are not collected by public fiscal authorities anddoes not flow into public budget.
• EPR fees are collected and managed by a system operator and should be exclusively used to fundpackaging waste management related activities.

How does an EPR scheme look like6

Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in EPR schemes•••••••••••••••

Why EPR is an effective tool Reduce materials and packaging use
 Improve collection and recycling
 Improve products and packaging designs – recyclability andreusability
 Increase materials recovery and reduce use of virgin materials

 Strengthen interaction along the value chain – materials
supplier, producers, brands, waste management operators
 Job creation – boost recycling industry
 Integrate informal sector

 Collective action to transition to circular economy
 Boost recycling market, improve market mechanism, aligndemand and supply of waste and recycling sector
 Reduce dependency on virgin material
 Minimize landfill dependency and environmental abatement
cost, externalities
8Studies on EPR scheme assessment for packaging by WWF
Introduction of the studies
 Country-specific studies: Malaysia, Philippines,
Thailand and Vietnam
 Analysis of the current waste management
system and recycling market for plastic
packaging waste Propose customized EPR schemes based onlocal implications
 Support policy makers in policy formulation totransition a circular economy
 Reference for industry players to become an
informed change maker and innovator© Green Renaissance / WWF-US

9

Studies on EPR scheme assessment for packaging by WWF

Photo by Jazlyn Lee10

Status Quo of Waste Management System

Three significant characteristics shape the Malaysian context:
1. High-value recyclable packaging already separated from household waste to a very
relevant extent and transferred to recycling systems.
This applies especially to rigid HDPE, PP and PET. Extraction is largely informal and thesubsequent value chain is based on a functioning market.
2. Malaysia has large recycling capacities are sufficient for above-mentioned, locallygenerated, high-value recyclables.
However, a huge number of recyclers and aggregators import and process imported
recyclables, occupying large capacities.
There is no fully traceable documentation of the imported material.
3. Low value and non-recyclables are mostly disposed of and collected together.
There is no systematic separate collection and recycling of the low-value recyclables.

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Material Flow Analysis for Post-Consumer Plastic Packaging Waste
Daily post-consumer plastic composition grams/per capita

Post-consumer plastic volume

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Post-consumer plastic data was estimated based on

12

1.

2.

Baseline figures for 7 types plastic waste generationfrom the Survey on Solid Waste Composition,
Characteristics & Existing Practices of Solid Waste inMalaysia commissioned by JPSPN (2013)
Estimated household incomes (Household Income &Basic Amenities Survey Report 2016)

10864
20
Category 1

3.

District populations (Department of Statistics)

Category 2

Category 3

Category 4

Post-consumer plastic waste generation in Malaysia, 2016 estimation

An estimated annual post-consumer plastic waste
generation of 1,070,064 tonnes in 2016

Note: The waste stream does not only include plastic from packaging butalso chemically identical non-packaging plastic waste such as toiletries(e.g. toothbrushes, combs), stationary (e.g. plastic pens, rules) and othersmall discarded plastic items.

12Material Flow Analysis for Post-Consumer Plastic Packaging Waste
Post-consumer plastic flow
For the rigid portion of HDPE, PET, PP, most recycling processors
estimated the recycling rate to be very high between 70% to 90%
depending on local collection, sorting and aggregation infra-structures.
Some of these rigid mono-materials are not recycled due propertychanges limiting the mechanical recycling

Waste flow for HDPE, PET and PP
Estimated recycling volumes and rates

Interviews and/or site visits with more than 40 stakeholders from very different backgrounds including formal sector (e.g. large concessionaries and multiple recycling centers) as well as theinformal sector, government entities at the local, State and Federal level as well as and NGOs. Secondly, we have conducted extensive interviews and site visits with multiple recycling processors
who process the aggregated recyclable materials into resin or end-products.

13Implications for an effective EPR system for MalaysiaClear responsibility within thegovernment – ministries anddepartments at federal, state and local
level

Include and private sector
stakeholders and industry led
platform – collectors, aggregators,
processors, consumer good companies,
MPP

Include civil society – leverage bothin the current decision-making process
as well as the design of a future EPR
schemeGreater effort to manage flexible packaging EPR scheme with appropriate incentives torecover and recycle flexible plastics while
reducing the amount of non-recyclable materials

Ensure that a higher share of rigid plastic
packaging is recyclable – EPR modulated feesthat favour recyclable materials and discourage
mixed materials

Engage informal sector - provide incentives
to increase the collection, improve livelihood
and working conditions

Ensure traceability and monitoring- from the point of collection up toprocessing
Photo by Jazlyn Lee14

Proposed customized EPR system for Malaysia

Mandatory EPR scheme• Reliable financial basis for large-scale collection, sorting and recycling of
packaging which is crucial for creating sufficient business cases along thevalue chains

Inclusion of system-relevant
packaging, products andobliged companies• Covering all packaging materials (e.g. plastics, paper, metals, composites)from households and equivalent places of origination (e.g. servicepackaging)

One, non-profit Producer
Responsibility Organization(PRO)• To ensure a holistic, reliable and fair manner waste management in which
the responsibility is collectively assumed through one, industry-led system
operator

Modulated fees

• Steered recycling market through application of reduced EPR fees forhigh-value recyclable packaging and an increased EPR fee for low-value
and non-recyclable packaging, paid by the obliged companies

Strict monitoring and controlsystems• To avoid fraud, strict and enforced monitoring, controls and penalties areindispensable and shall be carried out by KASA and KPKT to ensurecompliance of all actors
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Studies on EPR scheme assessment for packaging by WWF@Shutterstock.com

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Status Quo of Waste Management System

Three significant characteristics shape the Philippines context:
1. High-value recyclable packaging already separated from household waste to avery limited extent and transferred to recycling systems.
A sizeable volume of these high-value recyclable packaging still ends up in disposalsites or leaked to the environment.
2. The recycling capacities are insufficient for locally generated recyclables
However, recyclers and aggregators import and process imported recyclables,occupying large capacities.
3. Low value and non-recyclables are mostly disposed of and collected together.
There is no systematic separate collection and recycling of the low-value recyclables.
Often end up in landfills, open dumpsites and littered.
4. Philippines at the early stage of sustainable waste management.
No uniformity in implementation of national regulations, recycling infrastructure is limited

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Flow of plastic materials (2019)

Out of the 2,150k tonnes ofplastic that are available for local
consumption, 760k tonnes or
35% are leaked to the open
environment while 706k tonnes or
33% are disposed to landfills anddumpsites. Approximately 345k
tonnes or 16% are stored and inuse.
Around 183k tonnes or 9% areconsidered recycled.

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Implications for an EPR system in Philippines

Geographical challenge - there is nocentralized waste collection system for ruraland island communities

Insufficient recycling capacities - most of thematerials are discarded in open dumpsites, controlled
disposal facilities, sanitary landfills

Fragmented, misaligned implementation oflegal framework - Missing adequate technicaland financial
resources, willingness of stakeholders, andminimal awareness instead of a holistic
approach are present.
Photo by Jazlyn Lee19

Proposed customized EPR system for Malaysia

Mandatory EPR scheme withclear timeframe• Provide reliable financial basis for large-scale collection, sorting andrecycling of packaging which is crucial for creating sufficient businesscases along the value chains

Inclusion of system-relevantpackaging, products• Covering all packaging materials from households and service packaging
to avoid substitution negative effect

One, non-profit Producer
Responsibility Organization(PRO)• To ensure a holistic, reliable and fair manner waste management in which
the responsibility is collectively assumed through one, industry-led system
operator. Minimal supervision from government

Build high quality recycling
capacity• The financial flow from EPR scheme should be channeled towards
improving recycling infrastructure

Strict monitoring and controlsystems• To avoid fraud, strict and enforced monitoring, controls and penalties areindispensable and shall be carried out by DENR to ensure compliance of
all actors
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We cannot do this alone!

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